Would you like to worry less and enjoy life?

If you are like most people, you worry about your financial future. We can help.

Flat retainer, full-service financial planning. From cash flow to estate planning, we can work with you every step of the way.

Fee-only financial advice. We sell no products and receive no commissions.

A comprehensive approach to your goals. Our team will work within all areas of your financial life: tax planning, savings and investment strategies, insurance, estate planning, retirement planning, budgeting, and more.

Planning for your current lifestyle as well as the future. Our financial plans are living documents; they change as your circumstances change. We help set realistic goals and offer advice every step of the way.

Ongoing Communication and Advice. Your annual retainer fee allows you to call or e-mail us any time during the year, in addition to your regularly scheduled appointments - at no extra cost to you.

How we can help.

What often happens is that you go to a stockbroker for investment advice, an insurance agent to buy insurance, an accountant for tax preparation, and an attorney for estate planning. All of them can give you great advice about their area of expertise, but it's a bit like deciding what the puzzle is, based on only one piece. Is it any wonder that the pieces then don't fit together?

With the right help, you can put them together successfully. Instead of just telling you what to do, we work together with you, providing you with easy-to-understand recommendations and helping you implement them every step of the way.

About Us

Owner, Financial Advisor

Julie Lawrence, CFP®

Owner, Financial Advisor

Julie Lawrence opened Lawrence Financial Planning in 2009. She has more than 28 years of experience in finance and management. She holds a B.A. in Management from National Louis University. Julie passed the rigorous, ten-hour comprehensive CFP® Board examination in 2003.

Both Julie’s professional experience and life skills have prepared her for personal financial planning. As a mother of three, she knows the challenges of funding college educations, timing retirement, managing investments, selecting insurance, and developing estate plans.

Julie has been quoted in Financial Planning magazine, Investment News, NAPFA Advisor magazine, the Saint Petersburg Times, MSNMoney.com, the Chicago Tribune and FinancialPlanning.com. She serves as a mentor for new ACP financial planners and is an active member of NAPFA.

Julie has lived in Florida since 1977. She has three children. In her spare time she practices yoga, walks, and goes kayaking.

Financial Advisor

Ross Allen, CFP®

Financial Advisor

Before joining Lawrence Financial Planning in 2014, Ross Allen worked in the financial services industry for seven years. He has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and became a CFP® professional in 2013. Ross has a broad base of experience, including tax planning, insurance, mortgage reviews, retirement planning, and developing spending plans. He continues to grow his knowledge by attending seminars, and reading books and publications by leading financial professionals.

In his spare time, Ross likes traveling and being outdoors. He enjoys meeting new people, spending time with family and friends, and working out at the gym.

Paraplanner

Christina Caffrey, RP®

Paraplanner

Christina Caffrey is a Registered Paraplanner® with Lawrence Financial Planning, LLC. She assists the Financial Advisors in the preparation of account paperwork, organizes and prepares reports for the financial portfolios of clients and assists in providing customer service to the clients.

She completed her courses and passed the exam to become a Registered Paraplanner with the College for Financial Planning in 2011. She is continuing her studies to become a financial planner in the future.

Prior to joining Lawrence Financial Planning, Christina worked in the real estate field for over ten years.

Christina now resides in New Jersey where she lives with her husband and daughter. She enjoys being outdoors, reading, listening to music and watching baseball.

Paraplanner

Kyle Sheldon-Chandler, RP®

Paraplanner

Kyle Sheldon-Chandler RP® has been in the administrative support field for more than 28 years. She graduated from AssistU in 2003 as a Virtual Assistant. Kyle loves the ‘virtual’ flexibility of her career and the wide variety of individuals who she meets and works with. In addition, Kyle has a BBA and AA in Business Administration /Management and became a Registered Paraplanner in 2012.

Kyle was voted 2011 AssistU VA of the Year by her AssistU Colleagues and has been the Community Call Leader since 2009.

As a former member of the International Association of Administrative Professionals Association, she served as the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Colorado-Wyoming-Montana Division President. She was honored with the Distinguished Division President in 2008.

Kyle loves to fish, camp, hike, and ride her motorcycle or dirt bike in the desert. She and her husband have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.

Paraplanner

Kathy Alvare, RP®

Paraplanner

Kathy has worked in financial planning services for over 13 years. She earned her Registered Paraplanner status through the College for Financial Planning in 2008. For more than a decade she was the paraplanner at Rehl Financial Advisors. Kathy joined Lawrence Financial Planning in 2013 for the opportunity to serve clients in an expanding multi-planner office.

After she graduated with a BA in business from the University of Central Florida, Kathy moved to Tampa where she worked in management and was later Director of Operations in healthcare technology. Then in 2002 she transitioned into helping financial planning clients, which she finds very gratifying.

Kathy is essentially a native Floridian, having lived here since age 2. She is married with one son, who is currently in college. She is an avid tennis player and enjoys camping, bicycling and fine dining - especially when her husband does the cooking.

Administrative Assistant

Bria Schuster

Administrative Assistant

Bria has recently graduated from the University of South Florida with her BA in History. She is currently studying with the College for Financial Planning to receive her CFP® and become a Financial Planner.

Bria enjoys cooking, baking, and reading when she is not studying.

Services

As a fee-only, independent financial planning firm, we understand that one plan does not fit all. We have the ability to look at one or two specific areas of your financial life and help you with those goals, or develop a comprehensive plan. Our services include, but are not limited to:

Goal Setting

Financial Planning

Investment Review and Strategy Implementation

Tax Planning

College Planning

Pre- and Post-Retirement Planning

Stock Option Review

Budgeting

Estate Planning Strategies

Lump-Sum Distribution Advice

Financial Seminars

People who work with a fee-only financial advisor find that they accomplish the following:

They develop clear goals and a clear direction.

They regularly save in a fully diversified portfolio consistent with their risk tolerance.

They adequately provide for their loved ones in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

They pay off their consumer debt.

They make planned tax moves to reduce the amount of taxes they are paying.

They know that they are getting unbiased financial advice with no conflict of interest.

We’ll talk about your financial concerns and objectives and the solutions we provide. If we decide we would like to work together, we can talk further about helping you take the worry out of your financial future and helping you achieve the financial independence you desire.

Life can come at you pretty fast after college and multiple goals can make it hard to decide where to start saving or prioritizing your goals. The truth is, there’s never a perfect time to start saving. However, the earlier you begin planning for your future, the more likely you are to achieve your goals. Some personalized financial advice can make a huge difference in setting yourself up for a bright future.

We offer a financial mini-plan, Financial Planning for Young Professionals, to help you invest in yourself and put in place a financial foundation for your future.

Your financial review may cover the following topics:

Choosing the right employer benefits

How to pick investments in your 401k/403b/retirement plan

Budgeting and Cash Flow analysis

Debt Repayment Strategy

We have no minimum asset requirements and the Financial Planning for Young Professionals mini-plan is $900 per year payable up-front or $80 per month. Financial Planning for Young Professionals clients will be moved to our full retainer program upon reaching a net worth of $300,000 or more.

Blog

Affiliations

NAPFA

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is proud to have a membership of financial planning professionals who are committed to the highest of professional standards and principles. Members strive to be the:

Standard Bearer for the Profession

Champion for the Public

Beacon for Objective Financial Advice

FEE ONLY

FeeOnlyNetwork.com is a partnership with The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

Alliance of Comprehensive Planners

Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (formerly the Alliance of Cambridge Advisors) is a community of fee-only financial planners who believe clients are more than numbers. ACP members provide retainer-based services to manage clients’ whole financial picture, from estate planning to taxes.

Focus on Fiduciary

A financial advisor held to a Fiduciary Standard occupies a position of special trust and confidence when working with a client. As a Fiduciary, the financial advisor is required to act with undivided loyalty to the client. This includes disclosure of how the financial advisor is to be compensated and any corresponding conflicts of interest.

Resources

Lawrence Financial Planning, LLC is listed with the state of Florida as a Registered Investment Advisor. The firm will not solicit or accept business in any state in which it is not properly registered or qualified to conduct business by virtue of a state de minimus exemption. This website does not provide investment advice, nor is it intended to be an offer to provide investment advisory services to individuals or entities in any state in which Lawrence Financial Planning, LLC is not currently authorized to do so.

Information throughout this site, whether stock quotes, charts, articles, or any other statement or statements regarding market or other financial information, is obtained from sources which we, and our suppliers believe reliable, but we do not warrant or guarantee the timeliness or accuracy of this information. Nothing on this website should be interpreted to state or imply that past results are an indication of future performance. THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED ON THIS OR ANY 'LINKED' WEBSITE.